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At the Gartner Supply Chain Planning Summit in Denver, Scott Luton caught up with Rob Haddock, a seasoned supply chain practitioner and advisor with Demand Chain AI, to discuss the persistent planning challenges organizations face—and why maturity, discipline, and optimization still matter more than buzzwords. Demand Chain AI blends consulting services with advanced supply chain technologies, focusing on optimization across trade promotion management, demand sensing, supply planning, and detailed production scheduling. Haddock’s role centers on helping organizations strengthen business processes—particularly sales and operations planning (S&OP), performance reporting, and the practical application of technology to improve execution on both the demand and supply sides.   A Practitioner’s Perspective on Planning Gaps Haddock’s perspective is shaped by decades spent inside large, sophisticated supply chain organizations. Early in his career, he worked within an iconic, global beverage company where advanced planning environments were already in place—though, in hindsight, he admits those tools were sometimes underutilized. Today, Haddock spends much of his time working with small and mid-sized organizations that haven’t been as fortunate. In many of these environments, planning maturity is still low, foundational practices are missing, and—unsurprisingly—Excel remains the primary planning tool. “Basic business practices that have been around since the 1990s…

Stay up to date on all the latest conversations, interviews, and episodes we released this week here at Supply Chain Now. On Monday we released a Supply Chain Now episode with special guest, VP of UPS Ocean Freight, Steve McMichael. During this episode, Steve gives some insightful information on how companies can manage more effectively so that their operations can run in a more timely manner. On This Week in Business History, Kelly Barner talks about the difficulties that came along with Laying the First Transatlantic Telegraph Cable across the Atlantic Ocean. On Monday we also re-released a classic Supply Chain Now en Español episode with Erique Alverez and special guest, Josue Vasquez. In this episode of Logistics With Purpose hosts Enriquez Alvarez and Kristi Porter have a conversation with MAP International Vice President of Global Giving, Jodi Allison. She talks about the global impact that the company has had when it comes to the necessary efforts needed for a crisis such as COVID-19. On Wednesday’s episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton and Greg White welcome Walmart truck driver, April Coolidge, to the show. During this episode, she gives insight into her being a woman in a male-dominated field…